Sexting In Poland And The United States: A Comparative Study Of Personal And Social-Situational Factors

The current study investigates personal and social-situational factors that influence sexting among samples of young adults in two countries with similar rates of technology use. Specifically, the study examines age, gender, and nationality, along with variables related to technology use, normalized intimate behavior occurring through technology, and exposure to risk via technology using data collected from college students in Poland and the United States who completed online questionnaires. The results indicate that social-situational factors explained greater variance in sexting than personal factors. The normalization of intimate behavior occurring through technology and risk exposure both significantly related to sexting, and post-hoc tests revealed gender and nationality differences in these social constructs, with male and American students having higher normalization scores and with female and American students having higher risk exposure scores. Communication preference was also significant. Additional tests revealed that, out of all social-situational factors, having known someone who sexted and having used technology to facilitate a “hook up” encounter were the strongest predictors of sexting. It is recommended that future research tests theoretical propositions of various theories and considers an integrated theory to explain individual, group, and societal variation in sexting